Snow! 7/19 Today was probably the most beautiful day yet--hiking past the 3 sisters mountains, which were stunning in all their rocky, snowy beauty. It was like waking through enchanted forests, lush and woody, with brilliant sparking springs and creeks. We didn't even have to purify our water, as it came straight out of the mountain in places.

But today was also a day of crossing more snowfields than we could count. At first, we were a bit tentative, but soon we swerved and slided, trying to stay vertical with the help of our poles. But it was slow going, and tiring-- we made It only 15 miles and are now ready to conk out in our tent.... Beautiful sunset, beautiful day. And a hiker tan!